out of my league.

For some reason, I really love these sunglasses. They probably cost somewhere between $200-$1000, but I can dream, right?

no way.

Say it ain't so, say it ain't so!

One
Two
Three
Four

I don't usually say someone passed before their time, but this time, I think I might agree if someone was to make that statement.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

I've survived the 24 hour flu-like bug that knocked out a few of my students this week and last. I must not have sanitized my hands and classroom as much as I usually do when I have so many sick students, but this was still the first time I've been sick all year. Thank goodness it was a three day weekend, otherwise I would've had to take a sick day.

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I like that we get the day off of school for it. I'm not sure what events are going on, but I'm sure there are some, even though it's incredibly cold and there is still snow on the ground. The going theme in my room is quotes that explore my philosophy on life and education. I've used them to help students find inspiration for personal essays in both 10th and 11th grade. I have a few from MLK in my room, my students picked a few of them to write about for journal entries or essays and I've found a few more to add. Their favorites:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

What about yours?

Also, tomorrow is the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I'm going take a risk and wear two 1" pins to work tomorrow: Reproductive Freedom is a Human Right and Pro-Choice or No Choice. I'm not going to point them out or openly discuss them. If one of my students asks, I will explain. Most of them are so open about their opinions and I've told them many, many times that opinions do not influence my opinion of them as a person or their grade in any way, shape or form, so I don't expect any problems.
I've debated on blogging about this day and why it's important to me, but really, it only comes down to a few things:
1. I like having control over my own body and I don't trust anyone else with that decision.
2. I do not feel it's right to judge other women when it comes to deciding if they're fit to be a parent, if they're financially stable enough to be a parent, if they're healthy enough to carry a child for 9 months, or if they're capable of making their own decisions. And I would never ever want to force women into having illegal, unsafe abortions.
3. I really, really enjoy that whole privacy and confidentiality thing between my doctor(s) and myself. I'm betting that most of you do, too.

And a little something extra, made by teen moms and I believe it's called "Too Little, Too Late":

snow shows its face in colonialtown

It's snowed a few times this week, but today it's actually snowed for longer than a few minutes and it's stuck to the ground. Last year, I didn't get to see what Virginian students do when they see snow for the first time, this year, I did. It snowed in Norfolk on Tuesday and my kids went berserk. It was pretty funny, except that we then had trouble getting them focused on their mid-term essay again and it made my drive through the bridge-tunnel and slow-going adventure.
Today my sinuses have started draining, so my throat feels nice and scratchy. Thanks, mom, for the Airborne/Walborne lozenges because they are perfect for today. I also woke up feeling kinda bummed. I really have no reason to wake up that way, either. It's a three day weekend before exam week, which means I don't have a lot to prep for. Plus, it's snowing and I don't have any obligation that would force me to do anything but stare at it from my sliding glass door while laying on my couch with our new, Megan-made quilt. Thanks, Megan, for making an amazing quilt that keeps me warm on these days.
And the mood might have to do with the fact we decided to get another cat, found two adorable kittens to choose from, decided on one after waiting a day to make sure we weren't make a rash decision, only to find out that both of the were adopted/in the process of being adopted. Dang, that was quick. Sorry, David.

Let's just blame the bad mood on me reading Jane Eyre. It'll probably pass by tomorrow, just like the snow.

I think school broke me.

During my 7th bell, my back started hurting like it has many times before. A nice, pinched feeling. Usually when this happens, I'm at home and I've been sitting in a certain slouched position for too long. This time, I was at school with over an hour to go. I limped around, tried not to bend and tried to covertly stretch my back. It didn't work. And now I miss a dance class. Which, I guess, is fine because our normal teacher isn't here this week and we do have class on the 21st (NPS has no school on MLK day- the 21st- so I was worried we wouldn't have class, which would mean being 2 weeks without class after a 3 week break.) Add in a bum pinky finger and confused sinuses (from the inconsistent temps both inside and outside the school) and you got a pantsload full of joy.
David blamed it on sitting in pews for Lydia's baptism yesterday. At least we didn't burst into flames as we entered the building (I haven't been to church since I was a kid, I don't know if David has). I could start a whole other entry here about what I thought about during the service, but I'm afraid I might offend people. So, I'll sum up what I'd say in this: It was a beautiful church and service, I enjoyed the general feel of the church and the people there, but I do not at all feel inclined to go to church, nor do I feel guilty that I don't go to church, and I'm pretty content with my own individual spirituality. I have lots more to say, but let's keep that for a more private conversation, eh?

And now, I have a few comments to respond to:
Miguel: Javi is adorable! I am very excited for you. I've seen "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire", but haven't read it. I'm always a little uncertain about teaching books. They're either too strict, too liberal or very repetitive. But, since you liked it, I'll probably pick it up and give it a chance!

GBPack: Game on. BigPsh will be Trivia Champion!

how to be triflin', part 1.

I wore this shirt to school today. David got it for me for Christmas and we both thought it was pretty funny.

It was interesting seeing the reaction of the teachers. There were a few that gave me disproving looks or didn't quite get it. Others thought it was hilarious, a good example of stuff we teach (Shakespeare) being put into a modern context and language the kids would understand. My students LOVED it. They all asked to read it (sometimes my ID badge and pens were in the way) and they chuckled, giggled and asked where I got it. It cheered me up after getting a full page and a half note on how my 5th bell (and ONLY my 5th bell) treated the sub yesterday while I was at COMP. Well, okay, it was the shirt and the fact that it was Friday, a student in Shaw's Study Hall in my room told me that he's never heard a bad thing about me (and how exactly did I pull that off?!) and my 4th bell kicked some literary bootay during group work today and behaved!!(a new concept for them, believe me). One student that I have in 4th bell walked past my 8th bell and yelled "Shakespeare GOT to get paid, SON!!" when he noticed he wouldn't be interrupting anything. It helped my day end on a good note, despite having to teach grammar during the last block of the day on a Friday during the last stretch of first semester (if you ever wanted instructions on how to slowly drive yourself crazy, there you go...).
You might be asking yourself: Did he open the door during instruction to yell? *gasp* No, good friend, he did not. My door was open to let in some breeze because our A/C in the school is still broke as hell. This week's been in the 70s, which means we've all been sweating like whores in church and the whole school smells like the inside of a gym locker. Having the door open sucks because the kids get distracted by dumbass children in the hallway. For example, my 8th bell got to hear one kid declare "YO, I GOT TO FIND SOMEONE TO SUCK MY [you can assume the rest]". If our door had been closed, we wouldn't have had to hear that wonderful declaration. Thanks, child, for showing off your ignorance and complete lack of understanding of school and how to act in it. But, the way this school year has gone so far, a closed door wouldn't have stopped him. Even when my door is closed, I've had students push it open, yell into it and run away or push it open, turn off the lights and run away and many, many other annoyances that define the slang term "triflin'". They are seriously enjoying the fact that we can no longer lock their sorry behinds out.

Also, last year I only had one nickname (Pushlord. Thanks, Tim). This year, I have been upgraded to having more than one. So far, I've gotten Big Push (Shanice), Mzzz P (Jess), and Ms. Punchy (Devon). I think I like Big Push the best, mostly because Shanice says it Big PUSH! and then slaps me on the back or grabs my shoulder. She's got the Playful-Uncle-hitting-your-back/shoulder thing down, let me tell you.

I am making a conscious effort to be more positive. My major positive forces from last year, Chandra and Jerilyn, were both downstairs for the first part of the year. Jerilyn is now upstairs, but she's taking over another teacher's position, so she's been busy. I think this has definitely affected how I've perceived my classes and students because I'm surrounded by a lot more negative thinking AND I've put myself in a position to try and help a new teacher (who was put in the bad situation of teacher 4 sections of repeater English 9 classes with a co-teacher whose personality can be off-putting and usually conflicts with those around her). I've had to rely a lot more on myself to be positive and have enough positive energy to go around. Whew.

I cannot wait for second semester. Poetry, Julius Caesar (yes, like a fool, I am looking forward to it again), and Lord of the Flies (!!! and only that book, we're not doing lit. circles at the end of the year) for my 10th graders. And for my 11th graders, we start off with watching that Grizzly Man documentary to transition from Romanticism (what we're doing now) to Realism (what we do next), Their Eyes Were Watching God, drama (I have my choices of Fences, The Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun or Death of a Salesman. I'll probably try and find a way to teach the first three), and lots of really good literature that doesn't involve Puritans or English that has to be translated to teenagers. Hallelujah!

death and the student body

One of my students is convinced she will die soon. She was mostly joking, but the students have been discussing death more and more recently. The biggest reason behind this is because, in the last month, three students have died or been involved in causing someone's death.
The first was a kid I didn't have who was shot in his neighborhood. I have a lot of students who were friends with this student and teachers who had him as a student that really admired how hard he was trying to make something of himself, despite his past.
The second was an incident that happened right before school came back from break. Most of my students kept talking about a 17 year old Crip that shot a 21 year old Blood three times in front of a Game Stop in the middle of the day. One of my students even lived right behind the Game Stop. During 7th bell last week, I finally got the name of the 17 year old kid after hearing about it all day. He was one of my students, one that was in my class until he beat the living daylights out of another kid (who also happened to be one of my students). They kicked him out of Granby much too gladly. The students in my 4th bell were discussing it today, since, for possibly the first time ever, I knew something before they did. One student said, "I can't believe we were in class with a murderer!", another was just completely shocked. The kid was strange, but used to be really good. It seemed like he needed to fit in, belong, prove something and now his ass is in jail from going way too far with it.
It's strange that they were talking about former-student, now-inmate today because the third death happened yesterday. I was updating my grades in the workroom and Rebecca mentioned to Laura that some of her students may not be in school or will be very distracted/upset because one of their good friends died. She mentioned the girl's name and it was a student I had last year in my 3rd bell. She was on homebound due to cancer (and, if I remember correctly, brain-related, possibly tumors), but came back during second semester. She was an amazing girl: incredibly intelligent, friendly, kind, hard-working, beautiful (she showed me some of her modeling pictures--they were amazing!) and funny. People are planning on wearing pink tomorrow for her.

It's been a strange start for 2008 in our school.